Though he flirted with the idea of joining the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, Deion Sanders ultimately decided to stay in college, agreeing to a five-year, $54 million contract extension to stay at the University of Colorado.
While Sanders has been away from the team for a majority of the offseason and didn’t participate in the school’s summer football camps due to some unspecified health issues—Sanders himself claimed he’d lost 14 pounds around the NFL draft in April because of it—most expect him to be on the sidelines for the Buffaloes’ season opener against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.
Sanders was applauded by many media pundits for the job he did last season, taking a team that went just 4-8 during his first season as head coach and leading them to a 9-4 record and an appearance in the Alamo Bowl, which was just the school’s fourth bowl game since 2006.
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Some don’t like Sanders because of the loud, garish nature of his personality or because of the degree of swagger his team portrays, but former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach-turned-college football analyst Urban Meyer believes fans shouldn’t let the optics fool them about what Sanders is building in Boulder.
“I got to go backstage and watched them practice,” Meyer recently said on the “The Triple Option” podcast. “I see the watches and the cars and all of the flash — it’s just not me. But when I saw what went on behind the scenes, there’s a culture there. He’s tough on them, man. He’s demanding of that team. That’s what blew my mind.”
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Meyer further elaborated on what exactly he saw from watching Sanders operate during the Buffaloes’ practice that really impressed him.
“There’s no waste of time,” Meyer added. “They went out to work and they left. In between those two hours, it was go time. I’ve been to other teams’ practices where I thought they’re wasting time.”
While some may disagree with Sanders’ tactics, there’s little arguing he has quickly become one of the top program builders in the NCAA — a clear sign that players are buying into the culture he’s building.
Colorado had the No. 21-ranked recruiting class and the No. 1-ranked transfer class in the country during his first season in Boulder, and the Buffaloes ranked No. 22 and No. 8, respectively, in those same categories last season, per 247Sports.
This year, Sanders landed yet another top-25 recruiting class (24th), headlined by five-star QB Julian Lewis and four-star transfer QB Kaidon Salter.
